Celtic 0 Rangers 1
By Ronnie Esplin, PA Sport.
A Ugo Ehiogu goal five minutes after the interval gave Rangers an unlikely win over rivals Celtic in their Bank of Scotland Premier League clash at Parkhead.
The Ibrox side somehow survived a first-half pasting to go into the interval level as the Hoops missed a series of chances to take the lead.
And just after the break, following a Charlie Adam corner, the former England defender fired in an overhead kick to give the Light Blues all three points.
The visitors then gave as good as they got in the second period but there is no doubt that only profligacy prevented Celtic putting the game out of sight before the break.
A strange day started in a curious fashion when the team sheets came out.
The 7,500 Rangers fans who occupied the corner of Celtic Park were probably questioning the inclusion of Filip Sebo whose last start for the Light Blues had been away at Inverness Caledonian Thistle on December 27.
The Hoops supporters offered the ultimate insult for an Old Firm rival by cheering the Slovakian's name when the teams were read out.
The Ibrox men made a point of going towards their own fans and gesturing to them before kick-off in a show of solidarity but it only preceded a first-half battering.
Kenny Miller missed a great chance in the fifth minute when he latched on to a Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink head-flick and ran through on goal but with only Allan McGregor to beat he lobbed the ball onto the roof of the net from the edge of the box.
Midfielder Evander Sno came close in the 11th minute when he pulled an angled drive from 16 yards wide of the far post.
Then Miller carelessly fired over the bar from 12 yards after taking possession of another Vennegoor of Hesselink pass.
It was mostly one-way traffic with Aiden McGeady the next to threaten for the home side when he fired a dipping shot inches wide of the far post from 20 yards with McGregor beaten.
In the 26th minute, as Rangers continued to wobble, defender Ian Murray reacted well to head a dangerous McGeady cross from the left away with McGregor again looking uncertain.
Rangers' first effort on goal came moments later when Sebo took a Brahim Hemdani pass inside the Celtic penalty area and turned before dispatching a left-footed drive but the effort did little to trouble keeper Artur Boruc.
However, Celtic soon regained control with Pressley heading a Shunsuke Nakamura corner wide when he might well have been expected to hit the target.
In the 34th minute, after Nacho Novo and Hemdani combined to foul Lee Naylor 25 yards from goal, Nakamura curled a trademark free-kick a yard over the bar.
Celtic resumed control almost as soon as the second half began and from Nakamura's free-kick from wide on the right, Sno beat McGregor to the ball only to head over from inside the six-yard .
But in the 50th minute the game took a dramatic and unexpected twist when the visitors took the lead after stopper Stephen McManus had conceded a corner to thwart the willing Alan Hutton.
Adam floated the ball into the back post from the right and the ball bounced around before David Weir helped it towards goal.
There still appeared to be no real danger to the Celtic goal but Ehiogu's overhead kick from 12 yards out beat Boruc and bounced in off the underside of the bar.
The complexion of the match changed instantly with Rangers pressing Celtic higher up the pitch with markedly more confidence than before the interval.
Fatigue seemed to be plaguing both sides after their midweek European exertions, especially the Hoops. The tireless Novo skinned Naylor down the right, drove along the by-line but failed to pick out a blue jersey with his cut back.
In the closing stages, the increasingly tetchy game sped from end to end with Novo causing all sorts of problems for the Parkhead defence down the wing.
Celtic forced a series of corners near the end but the Ibrox side saw out four minutes of injury time.
Teams
Celtic; Boruc, Wilson, Pressley (O'Dea 78), McManus, Naylor,Nakamura, Lennon, Sno (Riordan 81), McGeady,Miller (Jarosik 74), Vennegoor of Hesselink.
Subs Not Used: Brown, Beattie, Perrier Doumbe, Caldwell.
Booked: Lennon, Sno.
Rangers; McGregor, Hutton, Weir, Ehiogu, Murray, Hemdani,Thomson, Ferguson, Adam, Sebo (Prso 74), Novo (Rae 90).
Subs Not Used: Klos, Boyd, Papac, McMillan, Furman.
Booked: Adam, Ferguson, Novo.
Goals: Ehiogu 50.
Att: 59,425
Ref: S Dougal (Scotland).
pretty much sums it up, non biased report.
CELTIC 0-1 RANGERS (MATCH REPORT)
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